This invention concerns a program execution system, program execution device, relay device, and recording medium that are suitable for application in an entertainment system by which, for example, one enjoys video games in a stand-alone mode or enjoys video games with various other players using a network.
Heretofore in an entertainment system, the entertainment system has mainly a main body that executes programs such as video games, an operation device that outputs operation input by the user to the entertainment system main body, and a monitor device that displays images according to the execution of said programs.
In recent entertainment systems, a recording medium is used on which, for example, programs concerning video games are recorded, said programs are loaded from said recording medium into the entertainment system main body and are executed, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM is employed as the recording medium. Thus it is possible to mount a music CD-ROM or a music CD on the entertainment system main body and enjoy music, or to mount a video DVD on it and enjoy a movie.
In such entertainment systems, it has been proposed that a connection be made with an information services provider (IP, for xe2x80x9cinformation providerxe2x80x9d) and that various information be exchanged. In fields separate from such an entertainment system there has been a remarkable increase in recent years in the number of portable telephone sets in use. Thus technology for various types of systems that make use of portable telephones is progressing rapidly. For example, in the xe2x80x9ci-modexe2x80x9d system offered by the Japanese telephone company NTT DoCoMo (registered trademark), portable telephone sets are connected to an i-mode center via a two-way wireless circuit (for example, a packet network or a PDC network), and connections with multiple information services providers can be made via an Internet circuit or dedicated circuit, allowing various information to be exchanged through portable telephone sets. Such portable telephone set corresponding to the i-mode system is sometimes called an i-mode portable telephone set.
If an entertainment system main body is connected to a system that makes use of portable telephones such as the aforesaid i-mode system (hereafter referred to simply as a xe2x80x9cportable telephone systemxe2x80x9d), it is necessary to ensure that the data mode used by the portable telephone system and the data mode used by the entertainment system main body agree, and one can contemplate methods in which, for example, driver software is installed in the entertainment system main body.
However, in the connection with the portable telephone system, it is necessary that the driver software be permanently resident in the main memory of the entertainment system main body, which correspondingly decreases the memory region available for other programs and might make it impossible to process video games at high speed. Thus it is necessary to expand the capacity of the main memory or separately install a memory that temporarily stores the driver software just while it is not connected to the portable telephone system.
Also, in a portable telephone system, one can conceive of a method that modifies the data mode especially for the entertainment system main body, but this would require recalling the portable telephones that have been sold thus far and making a major design change, such as making a design change concerning data transmission and reception and redoing from the beginning the setting of efficient frequencies for data transmission and reception.
The purpose of this invention is to provide a program execution system, program execution device, relay device, and recording medium that will make it possible to simply connect to a portable telephone system an entertainment system main body that is principally for, for example, playing video games, and make it possible to expand the range of use of the entertainment system.
Another purpose of this invention is to provide a program execution system, program execution device, relay device, and recording medium that will make it possible to simply connect to a portable telephone system, for example, an entertainment system main body using existing infrastructure, with no major design changes.
The program execution system of this invention transmits data to the outside from a program execution device that executes programs, and it is constituted so as to have a relay device that is connected between said program execution device and a portable telephone set and converts the data from said program execution device and sends it to said portable telephone set. In this way, the data that is output from the program execution device can be changed in the relay device to the data mode that corresponds to the portable telephone system.
In such a situation, the relay device may be connected to an operation device connector of said program execution device, and the data from said operation device connector may be converted into data for said portable telephone set. Or, said relay device may be connected to an external memory connector of said program execution device, and the data from said external memory connector may be converted into data for said portable telephone set. If the program to be executed by said program execution device is a program for a video game, for example, then said converted data may be data concerning the characters who appear in the game.
Also, the program execution system of this invention is a program execution system that causes a program execution device that executes programs to receive data from outside, and it is constituted so as to have a relay device that is connected between said program execution device and a portable telephone set and converts the data from said portable telephone set and sends it to said program execution device. In this way, the data from the portable telephone system can be changed in the relay device to the data mode that corresponds to the program execution device. In such a situation, said relay device may be connected to an operation device connector of said program execution device, and the data from said portable telephone set may be converted into data corresponding to said operation device connector. Or, said relay device may be connected to an external memory connector of said program execution device, and the data from said portable telephone set may be converted into data corresponding to said external memory connector. Again, if the program to be executed by said program execution device is a program for a video game, said converted data may be data concerning the characters who appear in the game.
The program execution device of the present invention executes programs, and is constituted so as to transmit data to a portable telephone set via an operation device connector or to transmit data to a portable telephone set via an external memory connector. In this case, if the program to be executed by said program execution device is a program for a video game, said transmitted data may be data concerning the characters who appear in the game. Also, the program execution device of the present invention executes programs, and it is constituted so as to receive data from a portable telephone set via an operation device connector or to receive data from a portable telephone set via an external memory connector. In this case, if the program to be executed by said program execution device is a program for a video game, the received data may be data concerning the characters who appear in the game.
The relay device of the present invention is connected between a program execution device that executes programs and a portable telephone set, and it is constituted so as to convert the data that is output from said program execution device into data for a portable telephone set and send it to said portable telephone set. In this case, it may be connected to an operation device connector of said program execution device and may convert data from said operation device connector into data for said portable telephone set. Or it may be connected to an external memory connector of said program execution device and may convert data from said external memory device connector into data for said portable telephone set.
In addition, the relay device of the present invention is connected between a program execution device that executes programs and a portable telephone set, and it is constituted so as to convert the data that is output from said portable telephone set and send it to said program execution device. In this case, it may be connected to an operation device connector of said program execution device and may convert data from said portable telephone set into data corresponding to said operation device connector. Or it may be connected to an external memory connector of said program execution device and may convert data from said portable telephone set into data corresponding to said external memory device connector. Again, if said program to be executed is a program for a video game, said converted data may be data concerning the characters who appear in the game.
The recording medium of the present invention stores programs that are readable and executable by a program execution device, and on such medium is stored a program that has a step that transmits part of the data generated by execution of the program from an operation device connector to a portable telephone set. Also, the recording medium of the present invention stores programs that are readable and executable by a program execution device, and on such medium is stored a program that has a step that transmits part of the data generated by execution of said program from an external memory connector to a portable telephone set. In addition, the recording medium stores programs that are readable and executable by a program execution device, and on it is stored a program that has a step that receives data from a portable telephone set via an operation device connector. Furthermore, the recording medium stores programs that are readable and executable by a program execution device, and on it is stored a program that has a step that receives data from a portable telephone set via an external memory connector. Again, if the program to be executed by said program execution device is a program for a video game, the received data may be data concerning the characters who appear in the game.